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Ryerson selects Diamond and Schmitt Architects for photography gallery and research centre

TORONTO, Jan. 31 /CNW/ - Ryerson University President Sheldon Levy today
announced that following a rigorous selection process, the University has
chosen Toronto-based Diamond and Schmitt Architects to develop and design the
new $8 million Ryerson Photography Gallery and Research Centre.
The gallery and research centre will be located at 122 Bond Street, in
the School of Image Arts building at the heart of the Ryerson campus. It will
house the University's world-renowned Black Star Historical Black &amp; White
Photography Collection and the Mira Godard Study Centre. The facility, which
will be directly accessible from the street, will occupy approximately 10,500
SF and will include several gallery and exhibit spaces, research facilities,
and storage areas.
"Diamond and Schmitt Architects brings vision, design excellence and
impeccable credentials to the Ryerson Photography Gallery and Research
Centre," said Levy. "The team is ideal for a project that integrates teaching,
research, study and gallery activities into one world-class facility. The
gallery and research centre will provide an optimum learning environment for
our graduate and undergraduate students, and will be a wonderful addition to
our downtown Toronto community."
"The Ryerson Photography Gallery and Research Centre will create learning
opportunities to engage and inspire students, visitors, scholars, and
educators," said Donald Schmitt, principal-in charge. "It will be a place of
stories told by the images of people who have played a role in the history of
the 20th century. It is our role as architects and coordinators of the design
team to create a place where these stories are conserved and brought to life."
Diamond and Schmitt Architects was established in 1975 and has received
over 100 regional, national and international awards for design, including six
Governor General's Awards for architecture. Past projects include the Four
Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts (the new home of the Canadian Opera
Company) in Toronto; the Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Queen's University,
Kingston; the Detroit Symphony Orchestra Hall; The Esplanade: Arts and
Heritage Centre, Medicine Hat, Alberta; and the Weston Family Innovation
Centre at the Ontario Science Centre.
Other members of the Diamond and Schmitt Architects team are: LORD
Cultural Resources (Gallery Planning); Crossey Engineering Ltd. (Lighting
Design, Mechanical and Electrical Engineering); Halcrow Yolles (Structural
Engineers); Aercoustic Engineering (Acoustical Consultants); H.H. Angus
(Vertical Transportation); T. Harris Environmental (Asbestos Management); LMDG
(Building Code Consultants); Ehvert Engineering Inc. (Communications
Distribution); and CFMS Consultants Inc. (Commissioning Consultant).
Ryerson University is Canada's leader in career-focused education, with
more than 80 graduate and undergraduate programs in the Faculties of Arts,
Business, Communication &amp; Design, Community Services, and Engineering,
Architecture and Science. Founded in 1948, Ryerson has graduate and
undergraduate enrolments of 23,000 students. With more than 64,000
registrations annually, The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education is
Canada's leading provider of university-based adult education.
BACKGROUNDER &amp; QUICK FACTS
RYERSON PHOTOGRAPHY GALLERY AND RESEARCH CENTRE
Ryerson's Black Star Historical Black &amp; White Photography Collection
- Ryerson's Black Star Historical Black &amp; White Photography Collection
is a remarkable visual legacy of the 20th century, an
internationally-renowned collection of black and white photographs
with extraordinary artistic and documentary value.
- The Collection is comprised of 291,049 prints. Placed end to end, the
prints would cover a distance of just over 46 miles.
- The Collection includes dozens of iconic images that were published
continually in popular media such as Life magazine, Look, and The
Saturday Evening Post, and fundamentally shaped and informed how we
saw the world in the 20th century.
- The Collection covers a wide range of subjects including major
international political and cultural figures, World Wars I and II,
the American Civil Rights Movement, popular culture and early space
exploration.
- The Collection includes works by world-famous photographers and
photojournalists, many of whom have had a profound impact on the
history of photography and photojournalism.
- The Collection was acquired by Ryerson University in April 2005 along
with a $7 million financial contribution to support the preservation,
research, study and exhibit of the Collection.
The Mira Godard Study Centre
- The Study Centre's 1,800 fine art photography works from the 19th and
20th centuries, its 140,000 slides, and other resource materials
provide faculty, students, researchers and scholars from outside the
University access to the work of major international photographers.
- The Study Centre is the foremost university facility of its kind in
Canada.
Photographic Preservation and Collections Management Program
- The only program of its kind in the world - this Master's program
brings together photographic historians, scientists, practitioners
and museum professionals.
- The two-year program is a partnership with the George Eastman House
International Museum of Photography and Film in Rochester, New York.
Master of Fine Arts in Documentary Media (MFA)
- The Master of Fine Arts in Documentary Media is a unique,
interdisciplinary program that draws on Ryerson's established
strengths in film, photography and new media.
- The interdisciplinary nature of the program allows students to
explore a variety of available options in terms of production and
distribution, culminating in a single professional work - be it a
film, book, exhibition or online exploration of a subject.
The School of Image Arts
- Ryerson's School of Image Arts, in the Faculty of Communication &amp;
Design, is recognized for graduating many of Canada's foremost
creative and industry leaders in fields related to contemporary
imaging. Students graduate from the School with more than a degree -
they are trained and educated to thrive in the real world of art and
commerce, content creation and industrial production.
- Alumni include photographers Ed Burtynsky, Shin Sugino, Yuri Dojc,
and Walter Chin; film directors Jeremy Podeswa, Bruce Macdonald,
Michael Kennedy and Alan Goluboff; Jeffrey Perkins, Oscar-winner for
best sound (Dances with Wolves); Frieder Hochheim, winner of an Oscar
in technical production for his Kino Flo lighting system; and Daniel
Louis, co-producer of The Barbarian Invasions, Academy Award-winner
as best foreign film in 2003. Over the years, graduates have won
numerous awards in Canada, the U.S. and Europe.
- The School of Image Arts offers a four-year undergraduate program
leading to a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Film, Photography or New
Media; graduate programs; and thriving continuing education
offerings, including the Ryerson Summer Film School.